Comptroller finalizes fiscal monitoring system

The state comptroller’s office has a plan in place to identify local governments in fiscal distress, officials announced Monday.

The fiscal monitoring system was drafted last September to provide an early warning for New York’s local governments and school systems. The concept was reviewed during a 60-day comment period, allowing 85 governments and schools to provide feedback, officials said.

“Many local officials have made it clear this monitoring system will play a helpful role in highlighting the financial trends in communities across New York,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement.

“By presenting a realistic picture of the economic and budgetary challenges facing our local governments, corrective actions can be taken when appropriate to avoid a fiscal crisis. It also provides the public an objective analysis they can use to participate in local financial decision making.”

The comptroller plans to calculate the degree of fiscal stress for some 2,300 municipalities and school districts in New York, he said.

The system will use nine financial indicators, including cash on hand and patterns of operating deficits. The system will start by analyzing localities whose fiscal year ended Dec. 31 and later apply it to villages and school districts whose fiscal years end at various periods throughout the year